The Journey of the Clones
by Balin Lord of Moria
Summary: In the afterlife, Etain Tur-Mukan discovers that she is not devoid of clone trooper company in the Force. A wide variety of clones say hello to her.


**Disclaimer:** I don't own Star Wars, The Clone Wars or its characters, Dave Filoni and Disney do.

* * *

**The Journey of the Clones**

It was a year since the formation of the Galactic Empire, the outlawing of the Jedi Order, and the rechristening of the clone troopers as stormtroopers. Once, former Jedi-turned-Mandalorian Bardan Jusik had told a certain old Mando mercenary named Kal Skirata that the spirits of dead Jedi could live on after death and accompany loved ones. And it just so happened that Jusik's friend, Jedi Etain Tur-Mukan, a lover of all Jango Fett clones, _was_ living on in the Force.

She admired the clone troopers' skill and strength as elite fighters, but she also felt sorry for them because their lives were predestined to simply fight and die for the Republic, and now the Empire. It reminded her of her own reluctance to be a respectful, detached Jedi Knight, a life she would not have chosen for herself. All clones were like friends to her, but she had fallen in love with a Republic commando named Darman, had a son with him, and officially married him a few hours before she was killed on Coruscant. Curiously enough, it wasn't a turncoat clone who killed it, nor was it the Emperor's new apprentice, Darth Vader. It was a young Jedi Padawan who was trying to defend himself from a 501st trooper intent on killing him. It sounded unusual, a Jedi saving a clone instead of saving the other Jedi, but she had quietly renounced the Jedi Order, and no longer considered them her family. Her family was the Grand Army of the Republic, and her Mandalorian family, Clan Skirata, who had posthumously adopted her as Kal Skirata's daughter. The act had touched her so deeply.

It was because of her compassionate, selfless love for the clones that she had achieved immortality through the Force. Now, however, she wondered if something else Jusik said was right. He had implied to Skirata and his clan that ordinary beings, including clones, had no such hope of an afterlife. They had all done their best to deal with it by deciding that relishing life as much as possible, particularly for the minority of clones who successfully deserted the GAR, was the best way to make up for the seeming lack of an after-existence, and to ensure that she didn't die for nothing.

One thing that was hurting her, though, was that Darman, her love, had failed to escape the Army of the Empire, and was now committing deeds that made him not much more than another lackey of Palpatine and Vader, though for different reasons than the other stormtroopers. She feared that he would so lose his way in life that he would forget all about her and go mad with his score against the Jedi survivors of the initial Jedi Purge, especially since it already seemed that he was going in that direction.

As she was thinking about these things, she was suddenly visited by another presence, another Force-based spirit of a long dead Jedi Master who didn't serve in the Clone Wars.

"I know how you feel, Etain Tur-Mukan," he said in a soft, stern but comforting voice.

Etain's spirit looked around her, and she spotted a middle-aged human man with long hair, a well-trimmed beard, and Jedi robes. She flinched, and then she frowned.

"It's another of you Jedi!" she exclaimed. "Go away! I'm not a Jedi anymore. I'm not bound to your arrogant rules and guidelines."

"I know that, Etain," the man said, "and I do not blame you for it. The Jedi Order was indeed going in a bad direction. You were one of the few who did the right thing in the end."

"Who are you, anyway?" Etain demanded, "I don't remember meeting you before."

"That's because I died ten years before the onset of the Clone Wars," he said, "I am Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn. I did not serve in the war, and I was never a Jedi General. And I wouldn't have become one if I did live to encounter the war."

"Qui-Gon Jinn?" Etain said, "Well, I have heard of you; you're the Master of General Kenobi, and a close friend of that stinking troll, Yoda."

"I am not sure if I appreciate you calling Master Yoda a 'stinking troll,'" said Qui-Gon, "not even when you have renounced the Jedi. But I do forgive you for it, for even Master Yoda cannot be loved by all."

"Yeah, yeah," said Etain impatiently, "Listen, is there a reason you're visiting me? Because I much prefer the company of my Mandalorian family and the clone troopers to that of dead, or living, Jedi."

"I sensed your thoughts of loneliness through the Force recently," said Qui-Gon, "and I wish to show you that the afterlife is not always off-limits for ordinary people or clones. Since most of the clones could never receive free lives in the real galaxy, I felt it would lighten your mood and cheer your heart if you could see where many of the Fett clones, clone trooper and stormtrooper alike, now walk."

"How do I know that this is true, and not some kind of trick?" Etain asked.

"I will show you," said Qui-Gon. "Take my hand for a moment, and I shall send you to a place where many of the brethren of Jango Fett can be found."

* * *

In a moment, she was in another section of the Netherworld of the Force, where she soon noticed a sea of familiar men with one familiar face in congregation. Then a dearly loved voice said:

"Welcome, General Tur-Mukan. It's good to see you are here, too."

Etain soon recognized Commander Gett from Improcco Company on Dinlo. She ran to hug her friend.

"Oh, Gett," she said tearfully, "Is it _really_ you? This isn't a trick, is it?"

"No trick, General," Gett confirmed, "We _really_ are here."

"But how can it be?" Etain asked any clone who cared to answer. "I thought clones didn't know how to become one with the Force."

"The truth is, Etain, none of us really know," said a trooper with a look of fierce independence in his brown eyes, "But we're glad we still have at least a few friends left in the galaxy. I'm Captain Rex of the Five Hundred and First."

"It's great to meet you, Captain," said Etain, shaking his glimmering hand with her own. "Say, who else is here? I know there's plenty of time to meet all of you."

"I'm Droidbait," said a clean, white-armored clone, "I was shot by commando droids before I could fire my first shot in real battle."

"I'm Cutup," said a similar clone with a stubble beard, "I enjoyed life a lot, but a hungry Rishi eel cut it short. Get it? Cut it short? Cutup!" He laughed. So did Etain, though inwardly, she also felt a little sorry for Cutup and Droidbait.

"I'm Hevy," said another trooper in all-white armor, "I saved my brothers on Kamino by sacrificing my own life on the Rishi moon."

"We're Echo and Fives of the 501st Legion," said two clones in blue ARC trooper armor, "We showed real valor and courage in the heat of battle, and became two of the best promoted ARC troopers in the army!" they finished proudly.

"I'm Jangotat," said another ARC trooper with red-and-white armor, "I've been told that I was the greatest of the Alpha-class ARC troopers for obeying my orders to the spirit instead of to the letter."

"I'm 99," said a bald clone in a gray jumpsuit fit for a janitor, "They wouldn't give me a chance to prove myself as a soldier, but I showed them all that even a handicapped maintenance clone can be a hero."

"I'm Fordo," said yet another ARC trooper, also in red-lined armor, "I took a more bombastic approach to my fighting style on planets like Muunilinst and Hypori, but I wasn't interested in my awards; I always felt that my men who died on the field of battle, like CT-43/002, deserved them more."

"And I'm CT-43/002," said a clone trooper standing near Fordo.

"What's your name?" Etain asked him, "I prefer to know clones by their names, even if the Empire is no longer allowing them to be known by names."

"They call me Honks," said CT-43/002.

Another trooper of the 501st stepped up and said, "Named or numbered, even some clone stormtroopers have been allowed to come here. I am Appo, commander of Vader's Fist. I helped Lord Vader take down many Jedi traitors in the Jedi Temple."

"I'm Vill," said another blue-armored trooper with a pauldron and a kama, "I am very glad to see that stormtrooper clones can feel useful in the Imperial Stormtrooper Corps, because the clones who still live needed a future when peace broke out, them being men of action and all."

"And I'm Voca," said a large trooper in blue-and-white commando-style armor, "It was a pleasure to fight beside Lord Vader, because he cares about us, unlike most others in the Empire, and he would never ask us to do anything he wouldn't do himself. At least, that's what an Imperial Army lieutenant named Erv Lekauf said to us once. I'll never forget those fights in the Atoa system, even though I fell and failed."

Etain looked from identical face to identical face. "Well," she said at last, "It's good to see all of you! I hope I can feel welcome among all of you indefinitely, because we have a long eternity ahead of us."

"General Kenobi's friend, Master Jinn, says that you can spend as much time with us as you like; the afterlife is a very 'free' lifestyle," said Rex.

"That is outstanding!" Etain exclaimed again.

One by one, each clone met with Etain Tur-Mukan and introduced himself. There were many more of them, ranging from Gree to Thorn to Waxer and Boil. It was comforting to know that clones and normal people could also come where certain Jedi could come. And Etain hoped that someday, she could communicate all of this to _Kal'buir_ and his entire extended family.

**THE END**


End file.
